Cognition and Development Flashcards
Describe and evaluate Piaget’s research in relation to the preoperational stage of intellectual development (16 marks)
AO1 (6 marks):
The preoperational stage, proposed by Piaget, occurs between ages 2 and 7 and is characterized by significant cognitive development. During this stage, children develop symbolic thinking, which allows them to represent objects and ideas mentally through language and play. However, their thinking remains egocentric and perception-bound, with limited logical reasoning.
Describe and evaluate Piaget’s research in relation to the preoperational stage of intellectual development (16 marks)
AO1 (6 marks):
Piaget identified key features of this stage:
Egocentrism: The inability to understand perspectives other than one’s own. Piaget demonstrated this through the Three Mountains Task, where children were asked to describe what a doll could see from a different viewpoint. Preoperational children typically described their own view, showing egocentrism.
Animism: Attributing human emotions or intentions to inanimate objects, such as believing a teddy bear has feelings.
Centration: Focusing on one aspect of a situation while ignoring others. Piaget tested this with conservation tasks, such as pouring liquid into different-shaped containers. Preoperational children often judged the amount based on the container’s height rather than understanding that quantity remains constant.
Describe and evaluate Piaget’s research in relation to the preoperational stage of intellectual development (16 marks)
AO3 Strengths
Piaget’s work significantly advanced understanding of cognitive development and influenced educational practices. His theory emphasized active learning, which underpins modern teaching methods like the use of manipulatives and exploratory play.
Support for egocentrism comes from Borke’s (1975) modified Three Mountains Task. When more familiar, realistic scenes (e.g., a toy farm) were used, younger children demonstrated improved perspective-taking, partially validating Piaget’s conclusions.
Describe and evaluate Piaget’s research in relation to the preoperational stage of intellectual development (16 marks)
AO3 Weakness
Methodological issues: Piaget’s tasks were criticized for being too complex and unfamiliar for young children. For example, Donaldson (1978) argued that conservation tasks lacked contextual relevance, affecting performance. When “naughty teddy” was introduced to mess up rows of counters, younger children were more likely to demonstrate conservation, suggesting Piaget underestimated their abilities.
Underestimation of abilities: Research by Hughes (1975) using a simpler task, where children hid a doll from a police officer, showed that even 3–5-year-olds could take another perspective, challenging Piaget’s timeline for overcoming egocentrism.
Cultural bias: Piaget’s findings were largely based on middle-class Swiss children, limiting the generalizability of his conclusions to other cultures with different educational and social practices.
Discuss theory of mind and Selman’s levels of perspective-taking in the development of social cognition (16 marks)
AO1 (6 marks):
Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand that others have their own thoughts, beliefs, and feelings, which may differ from one’s own. ToM develops around the age of 4–5 and is often assessed using the false-belief task. For example, in the classic Sally-Anne task, a child is asked where Sally will look for her marble after it is moved without her knowledge. Success in this task indicates the development of ToM.
Selman proposed a stage theory of perspective-taking, emphasizing the progression from egocentric thinking to understanding others’ viewpoints. The levels are:
Egocentric perspective-taking (3–6 years): Children cannot distinguish between their own perspective and others’.
Social-informational perspective-taking (6–8 years): Children understand that others may have different information.
Self-reflective perspective-taking (8–10 years): They can consider others’ thoughts and feelings.
Mutual perspective-taking (10–12 years): Children understand multiple viewpoints simultaneously.
Societal perspective-taking (12+ years): They consider broader social and cultural contexts.
Discuss theory of mind and Selman’s levels of perspective-taking in the development of social cognition (16 marks)
AO3 Strengths of ToM:
Baron-Cohen et al. (1985) provided support for ToM by comparing autistic children, typically developing children, and children with Down syndrome on the Sally-Anne task. Autistic children struggled significantly, suggesting impaired ToM is linked to social difficulties in autism.
ToM has practical applications, such as informing interventions for autism, helping improve social functioning by enhancing perspective-taking skills.
Discuss theory of mind and Selman’s levels of perspective-taking in the development of social cognition (16 marks)
AO3 Weaknesses of ToM:
Reductionism: ToM simplifies social cognition by focusing primarily on cognitive factors while ignoring emotional, biological, or environmental influences, such as empathy or parenting styles.
Cultural bias: Indigenous cultures with collective values may develop ToM differently, as seen in Shahaeian et al. (2011), who found cultural variations in the rate of ToM development.
Discuss theory of mind and Selman’s levels of perspective-taking in the development of social cognition (16 marks)
AO3 Strengths of Selman’s Theory:
Empirical support comes from Selman’s research, where children’s responses to social dilemmas correlated with their stage of perspective-taking, showing developmental progression.
Selman’s theory integrates well with real-life applications, such as improving conflict resolution and fostering social-emotional learning in schools.
Discuss theory of mind and Selman’s levels of perspective-taking in the development of social cognition (16 marks)
AO3Weaknesses of Selman’s Theory:
Reductionism: Like ToM, Selman focuses on cognitive abilities while underestimating the role of emotions or interpersonal relationships in social cognition.
Lack of universality: Cross-cultural research suggests that perspective-taking skills may not follow Selman’s stages universally due to cultural differences in socialization practices.
Discuss what psychological research has told us about children’s understanding of object permanence (16 marks) AO1 sTRENGHTS
Object permanence, a concept proposed by Piaget, refers to a child’s understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. Piaget argued that object permanence develops during the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years). He tested this using hiding tasks, such as placing a toy under a cloth. He observed that infants under 8 months typically failed to search for the toy, suggesting they lacked object permanence.
Piaget also identified A-not-B errors, where infants repeatedly search for an object in its original location (A) even after seeing it hidden in a new location (B). He attributed this to incomplete understanding and limited memory.
Modern research has challenged Piaget’s conclusions. Baillargeon and Graber (1987) used the violation-of-expectation method, showing that even 4-month-old infants looked longer at impossible events, such as a screen passing through a hidden object, suggesting they understood object permanence earlier than Piaget proposed.
Discuss what psychological research has told us about children’s understanding of object permanence (16 marks) AO3 Weakness
Piaget’s work laid the foundation for understanding cognitive development and inspired further research into early cognitive abilities. His findings have had significant influence on developmental psychology and early childhood education.
Support from later studies: Bower and Wishart (1972) found that infants as young as 1–4 months showed distress when an object was removed, supporting Piaget’s idea that object permanence develops gradually.
Discuss what psychological research has told us about children’s understanding of object permanence (16 marks) Ao3 Weakness
Underestimation of abilities: Modern research, such as Baillargeon’s, suggests infants may have object permanence earlier than Piaget proposed. Piaget’s methods, such as hiding tasks, relied on motor skills, which could confound results.
Methodological issues: Violation-of-expectation studies argue that looking time may not necessarily reflect cognitive understanding but could result from novelty preferences, reducing the validity of alternative findings.
Discuss what psychological research has told us about children’s understanding of object permanence (16 marks) Ao3 aLTERNATIVE
Piaget emphasized biological maturation, but researchers like Vygotsky highlight the role of social interaction in cognitive development. For example, caregivers may scaffold understanding of object permanence during play.
Neuroimaging studies show that brain areas like the prefrontal cortex are involved in object permanence, providing a biological basis for its development.
